4 of 5

Hm. Is my life better when I’m not at work?

Cleaning: I’m very proud that I cleared half of the cardboard boxes from the garage. Unfortunately there were so many that the other half doesn’t fit in the recycling bin. (I’ve got a large one, with wheels on). The car trunk is still clear, which is sweet, because tomorrow I can start taking things out for donation to various places.

Cooking: I almost stuck to plan. Breakfast was the first time I used my medium frying pan, which as it turns out is perfect for making two sunny side eggs in with room to spare, ditto for potatoes o’brien and even sauteing one serving of mushrooms. I’ve got the hang of breakfast at least.

Lunch was thai fried rice, the first thing I’ve made in my wok. While not beef and broccoli in oyster sauce, I did have three cups of cold rice to use, as well as quite a few ham cubes. This was excellent and fast to make, and the wok, while presenting logistical problems with its size and weight (I had to spoon stuff out in the end), worked very well, becoming hot almost instantly on my induction burner and retaining heat like a champion. The non-stick coating is quite tough, and everything washed quite clean away. I’ll note a couple of important things from the instruction booklet that people should read:

• Follow the instructions to condition the wok for the first time ever. And use a very light coat of oil. It’s not much effort—just wipe the inside of the wok, and put on medium heat for two minutes. There will be a little smoking, and then you turn off the heat, let the wok cool completely, then it’s over. You wash it with soap and water. No heavy duty oven stuff involved.

• Don’t use a heavy scrubber (you won’t need to) or metal tools (bamboo spatulas are pretty spiffy anyways, quite light and make a satisfying noise on the wok).

• Don’t heat the pan with nothing in it. Make sure you have some oil in it first, and then turn on the heat. Non-stick works differently from non-non-stick.

I made Gee Whiz (not Cheez Whiz, that name already being taken, good gods) in the Ninja and it did almost as well as a real food processor would. Much quicker, too.

And finally I made paeneng beef with red curry peanut sauce, page 73 of Quick & Easy Thai, and it was awesome. It’s practically what the restaurants call “swimming angel”; all it needs is a pile of spinach, or maybe just veggies, to soak up that copious sauce (and I do mean copious). Definitely will make it again.

Tomorrow! What to do tomorrow. I’ll have to figure out what to do with 1/2 lb of beef, and 1/4 lb of chicken. It sounds like beef and broccoli followed by chicken fried rice or sommat.

Reading: Homeland still. I like that I can read it in little bits at a time, rewarded by a slower pace. And to tell the truth, I like having this book and strange world to turn to on a reliable basis. If only it were nicer to Drizzt (nimbly two-handed and learning weapons now).

Come to think of it, I also had that sense while I was reading The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Maybe I’ll write an extended review of it after all; Pine Cove reminds me a lot of the island.

I haven’t picked up The Hobbit in a while, just let Mark Read it for me. Perhaps I will tonight… or I may simply just fall asleep to Keven and Ursula Eat Cheap aga in, which leads to neutral weird dreams on a reliable basis. They probably act as an anchor to the mundane horrors of freezer food, which is a natural panacea against truly high octane nightmares.

Or I may just find the graphic novel again. That was a fun read.